Book Launch: Rethinking Public Institutions in India

Summary: While a growing private sector and a vibrant civil society can help compensate for the shortcomings of India’s public sector, the state is—and will remain—indispensable in delivering basic governance.

While a growing private sector and a vibrant civil society can help compensate for the shortcomings of India’s public sector, the state is—and will remain—indispensable in delivering basic governance. How will India’s public sector navigate the far-reaching transformations the country is experiencing? And what reforms must India carry out to build a reinvigorated state for the twenty-first century?

In a new volume, Rethinking Public Institutions in India, a group of distinguished political and economic thinkers critically assess a diverse array of India’s core federal institutions, from the Supreme Court and Parliament to the Election Commission and the civil services. Drawing on the insights of scholars and practitioners with deep knowledge of the Indian state, co-editors Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta discussed their findings with Georgetown’s Joel Hellman and the World Bank’s Maitreyi Bordia Das. Carnegie’s Milan Vaishnav, also a co-editor, moderated. A light reception followed.

Maitreyi Bordia Das

Maitreyi Bordia Das is the global lead for social inclusion at the World Bank. She was previously a member of the Indian Administrative Service.

Joel Hellman

Joel Hellman is the dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service and a distinguished professor in the practice of development at Georgetown University.

Devesh Kapur

Devesh Kapur is the director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, and a professor of political science and Madan Lal Sobti professor for the study of contemporary India at the University of Pennsylvania.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta

Pratap Bhanu Mehta is the president and chief executive of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi and a contributing editor at the Indian Express.

Milan Vaishnav

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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About the South Asia Program

The Carnegie South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From the war in Afghanistan to Pakistan’s internal dynamics to U.S. engagement with India, the Program’s renowned team of experts offer in-depth analysis derived from their unique access to the people and places defining South Asia’s most critical challenges.

The Carnegie

Podcast

The biggest challenge for the Indian state is not its size, but its inefficiency. Carnegie Senior Fellow Milan Vaishnav and co-authors Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta discuss their new book, Rethinking Public Institutions in India, and explore the massive challenges India faces and the state’s ability to adapt.

The Carnegie Podcast is a regular series hosted by Tom Carver featuring commentary and analysis from Carnegie experts on critical global issues.